It’s been said that smooth jazz trumpeters are not very plentiful today. Rick Braun, Chris Botti, and Greg Adams quickly come to mind as being among the major heavyweigh…
15 May
Live: The Liquid Soul Tour by Gemini Soul
Tuesday, 15 May 2007
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
The jazz quartet Gemini Soul describes their music as cyber-jazz because of their symbiotic combination of analog sounds and electronic programming. But after listening …
The World of Najee a Jazz Review By Eddie FonsecaThe streets of New York are filled with energy and soul because life is quick in the Big Apple, on a cris…
09 May
Just Around The Corner by Eric Marienthal
Wednesday, 09 May 2007
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Saxophonist Eric Marienthal’s ability to consistently groove with the best has never been a question mark. Since 1980 he has been at the forefront of musicality with high p…
Smooth jazz saxophonist Darren Rahn’s sophomore release Once In A Lifetime has instrumentals with a symphonic jazz breadth and creamy melodic phrasing entwining w…
24 Apr
Smooth Ones & Late Night Rendezvous by Various Artists
Tuesday, 24 April 2007
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Rendezvous Entertainment has released two unique CD compilations of smooth jazz music that highlight their stable of artists. Celebrating five years of success as one of…
Close your eyes and think about the very best Belgian chocolate and a truffle melting on the tip of your tongue. Imagine the lingering taste of the finest French red win…
They say it takes a village to build anything especially a great leader and Justin Young’s debut album On The Way is certainly proof positive of that statement. W…
16 Apr
2unes Straight @ You by North Woodall
Monday, 16 April 2007
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
So often in this genre, you run accross a musician who has been working all his life at his craft with a single intention, to share his gift with others. They woodshed f…
Flutist Dwayne Kerr’s sophomore release Higher Calling makes jazz music as beautiful as it comes. His sinewy flute passages are flanked by gorgeous glistening syn…
12 Apr
RnR by Rick Braun & Richard Elliot
Thursday, 12 April 2007
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
If there is such a thing as a yardstick to measure smooth jazz by, then trumpeter Rick Braun and saxophonist Richard Elliot will invariably rise to the top of the list a…
Smooth like creamy butter icing melting on the tip of your tongue is the image that comes to mind when describing the jazz vibes of guitar virtuoso Norman Brown. In May …
09 Apr
Journeyman by Terrance L. Robinson
Monday, 09 April 2007
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Journeyman, the debut album by composer and multi-instrumentalist Terrance L. Robinson, is a true source of comfort in any household. There is so much promise in …
In a perfect world, jazz music as a form of entertainment would be such a great topic of conversation, radio as a medium of conveyance would not be needed to popularize …
Guthrie P. Ramsey Jr. (a.k.a. "Dr. Guy") is associate professor of music history at the University of Pennsylvania, with an impressive academic track record in ethnomusicol…
I can remember when I was a little boy, and I would sit watching my mother frost or ice a cake. My mouth would start to water and the excitement would build as I waited …
I have been a Rick Kelly/Soul Ballet fan for.... forever. Now, here is a guy who possesses my definition of unique. Jazzy, flavorful, melodic? Definitely. Yet, th…
27 Mar
Above the Clouds by Brian Simpson
Tuesday, 27 March 2007
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Above the Clouds, the latest offering from keyboard whiz Brian Simpson, finds the artist in his element, comfortably situated behind the ivories, banging out ei…
Ronny Smith’s current record Simply Stated has a velvety refinement and butter-whipped fluidity that awakens good feelings in the listener. Produced by Ronny Smit…
One of the smoothest and most exacting of sax/flute players in the smooth jazz biz has always been, without a doubt, the gentleman we simply know as Najee. The two-time …
Here is truly a compelling and magnificent collage of exotic Latin American, Caribbean and American jazz/blues headed by Rob Fried, a bassist with eclectic tastes and fl…
Smooth jazz guitarist Blake Aaron is back with his third CD Desire and for anyone familiar with his music, it was well worth the wait. This collection of mostly orig…
21 Mar
The Night, The Rain, and You by Eric Bolvin
Wednesday, 21 March 2007
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Not being a real trumpet aficionado (there only a few that really catch my interest, Miles, Dizzy, Rick Braun, Greg Adams, Chris Botti and a handful of others), I have t…
This is the genuinely refreshing third offering from a truly gifted keyboardist who’s cranked out two previous projects (Down the Middle in 2005 and a sampler c…
20 Mar
RnR by Rick Braun/Richard Elliot
Tuesday, 20 March 2007
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Could one expect anything less than perfection from two of the most colossal and prolific names in all of smooth jazz? Richard Elliot, one of the original sultrie…
If you like your jazz music sensual and romantic, then Paul Taylor’s CD Ladies’ Choice will cause your heart to flutter. The alto saxophonist does not need to rel…
One of the prettiest collections of songs to come my way this year is Rob Fried’s self-produced CD Wind Song, featuring Randy Brecker on trumpet and flugelhorn. T…
24 Feb
Ladies Choice by Paul Taylor
Saturday, 24 February 2007
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
One of the sexiest instruments in jazz can be found in the saxophone. Plus, if one takes it another further, the alto and soprano sax reigns supreme as the most romantic…
21 Feb
Good to Go Go by Spyro Gyra
Wednesday, 21 February 2007
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
The superior jams, serenades, and witty hooks just keep on coming with these guys. Exactly as their promo sheet exclaims: The entity (I’d say phenomenon) known as…
21 Feb
Angels of Shanghai by Bob James
Wednesday, 21 February 2007
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
As I fancy myself as one who truly loves diversity in musical culture, I found this latest Bob James project quite satisfying to say the least. It is truly an aural trea…
21 Feb
Supercharged by Down to the Bone
Wednesday, 21 February 2007
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
This album should have come with a warning: Contains high octane energy & unbridled funk. Contents may be prone to ignite upon removing CD wrapper! Stuart Wade an…
Here’s a really traveling album, literally. The theme is eloquently woven into the fabric of the entire album. Each tune is about a move through or to some area in sunny…
Smooth, seasoned, suave, and eNORMously talented, Norman Brown brings us yet another finely crafted gem in Stay With Me. Armed with his trusted Ibanez, a guitar I…
One of the true masters of the very melodic "sweet sax" now personifies his romanticism by showcasing four lovely female vocalists on this latest smooth showing of his g…
19 Feb
Love, Niecy Style by Deniece Williams
Monday, 19 February 2007
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Well, well, well. Talk about a voice for ailing ears! This darling of the 70s hasn’t skipped a beat in the years since her last mainstream R&B recording (it’s been, what…
Narada Jazz has such an abundance of mega-talent that I often wonder what attractant they use (besides money, of course) in their record deals and contracts. I can think…
This young man who was initially a Marcus Johnson find as the top saxman for Johnson’s Three Keys label artists has finally come into his own on the Richard Elliot-Rick …
Munich-born smooth jazz guitarist Nils has shown that his success with his debut album Pacific Coast Highway was definitely no fluke. His fluid, yet stinging high…
One listen to R&R, the latest CD set to be released June 19th by young saxophonist Marcus H. Mitchell, is guaranteed to get your attention. The title may say rest an…
Debuting with Baby Soul is a watershed moment in Jackiem Joyner’s life as he transitions from sideman, opener and back-up player to a full fledged star in his own …
Will Call, the sensational follow up to saxophonist Will Donato's Will Power, starts big and grows from there. Donato is no stranger to the music scene and …
15 Jan
Give Me the Groove by Rocco Ventrella
Monday, 15 January 2007
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
In my opinion, when performing covers of highly popular pieces, interpretation is one of the most powerful tools to help ensure success. Italian sax man Rocco Ventrella,…
Andrew Neu’s second album In Clear View has a wealth of renown musicians who contributed their melodic sensibilities to his compositions, including Neu’s record p…
04 Jan
Manchester Road by Tim Cunningham
Thursday, 04 January 2007
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
R&B/smooth jazz saxophonist Tim Cunningham first made an impact on audiences after playing at the St. Lucia Jazz Festival in 1992. He followed the performance with appea…
20 Jul
More Love More Power by david wells
Thursday, 20 July 2006
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Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Smooth jazz composer and trumpet and flugelhorn player David Wells has released his sixth studio album More Love More Power, produced, engineered and arranged by …
It has been almost five years since keyboardist Lao Tizer has granted us with CD access to his unique skills as a jazz musician. However, Lao has not been sitting around…
Here’s an album that clearly has a statement to make. From its impressive list of contributors (which includes Tizer’s mentor, the illustrious Chieli Minucci of Special …
This album is quite aptly titled, if you like your jazz laden with bluesy, lazy, moonlight-rich romantic saxophone. After a 30-year hiatus and at age 75, Georgia-born J.…
12 Jul
Last Tango In The New World by Greg Henderson
Wednesday, 12 July 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
I so often search high and low for that right combination of smooth Latin-tinged jazz/R&B that offers that swaying, subtle, tenderness that allows you to simply be consu…
09 Jul
Forever, For Always, For Luther Volume II by Various Artists
Sunday, 09 July 2006
Published in
Smooth Jazz - CD Reviews
Forever, For Always, For Luther Volume II is a tribute album to Luther Vandross, who died in 2005 at the age of 54, possibly due to complications from an earlie…